It was just one year ago when The Young and the Restless received a whopping 28 Daytime Emmy nominations. That total put the soap in the Guinness Book of World Records under the category of "Most Emmy Nominations." Seven of those nominations turned into Emmys wins. That mark, however, was not a record. The mark had been set the previous year by General Hospital's eight Emmy wins.

Y&R amassed 12 Emmy nominations - a total much less than last year's total, but a total that still placed the show as the third-most nominated soap opera this year.

David Lago

Some of The Young and the Restless' stars were noticeably absent this year. Gone were last year's Emmy winners Shemar Moore (Malcolm) and Camryn Grimes (Cassidy). If the stars were present, they shielded themselves from the cameras extremely well. David Tom (Billy), a winner last year in the Younger Actor category, was on hand as he was also nominated in the same category this year.

While The Young and the Restless received three acting nominations, the show failed to convert any of those nominations to wins. Peter Bergman (Jack) had been nominated in the Lead Actor field. As mentioned, Tom was nominated in the Younger Actor category along with co-star David Lago (Raul).

An elated Bergman leapt to his feet when All My Children's Michael E Knight (Tad) was named Outstanding Supporting Actor. Bergman shouted out praise for the man who had been his former co-star during his days as AMC's Cliff Warner.

If there is one category in which The Young and the Restless dominates, that category would have to be Outstanding Directing Team. Y&R picked up its ninth trophy in the category this year. The show had a block of four wins from 1996 to 1999 and another block of four consecutive wins from 1986 to 1989.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Behind-the-scenes, Y&R escaped much of the media gossip. While the topics in which Y&R was mentioned were not necessarily juicy, there was some very interesting information bandied about.

Jeanne Cooper

The Young and the Restless remains television's top-ranked soap opera, however, it's possible that that ranking could change. According to ratings numbers, the same-day reruns of ABC's soaps on the SoapNet cable channel earn huge ratings. The reason SoapNet airs only ABC programming is because SoapNet is owned by Disney, which also owns ABC. While SoapNet is not yet available in all areas, the areas on which the channel is available help power the ABC soaps to record-high ratings, If the ratings from the SoapNet runs were to be added to the traditional Nielsen numbers, it's reported that either All My Children or General Hospital could unseat Y&R as the top soap.

By the end of June, The Young and the Restless will begin broadcasting its episodes in high-definition format. The directors of the program see no troubles in making the transition because they've been using all diGityal equipment for quite some time. Viewers who do not have "HD-TV" will not be shut out of the viewing pleasure; the show will continue to also air in its traditional format.